Top 15 NBA Playoffs Scorers Of All Time

Even though the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers to force a deciding Game 7 on Monday, 4 time MVP Lebron James added to his legacy by reaching another career milestone.

By scoring a game high 29 points on Saturday, James passed NBA all time great and Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen for 12th all time in NBA career scoring in the Playoffs.

Earlier this postseason James passed the great Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor to move up the all time list and now stands just 39 points behind the legendary Magic Johnson for 11th place.

Only Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan rank higher than Lebron as active players.

Check out the Top 15 Scorers in NBA Playoff History…

3,607 Points

13 Seasons In Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 22.5 ppg, 24.5 reb, 4.2 ast

Arguably the game’s all time most dominating performer during the regular season, Wilt played made the postseason in 13 of his 14 pro seasons, winning 2 NBA Championships with the Philadelphia Warriors and LA Lakers.

3,623 Points

12 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 27 ppg, 12 reb, 4 ast

Often overlooked in the game’s history, Baylor was the predecessor to Michael Jordan as the game’s initial great scorer. Even though he played his last game in 1972, many of his records still stand today like his 61 points scored in an NBA Finals game vs the Celtics in 1962.

3,642 Points

16 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 17.5 ppg, 7.6 reb, 5 ast, 1.9 stl

One of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All Time, “Pip” made the playoffs a remarkable 16 consecutive seasons with the Bulls, Blazers, and Rockets. Of course, he teamed with the great Michael Jordan to win 6 NBA Titles and remains the only player to win both an NBA title and Olympic Gold in the same season twice(’92 and ’96).

3,662 Points

8 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 28.2 ppg, 8.5 reb, 6.7 ast, 1.7 stl

The 4 time NBA MVP winner is already the game’s best current player, winning his first NBA title in 2012, but he may go down as one of the Association’s best ever postseason performers as he continues his assault on the record books, ranking #12 in postseason scoring after only 8 seasons.

3,701 Points

13 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 19.5 ppg, 12.3 ast, 7.7 reb, 1.9 stl

Arguably the game’s best point guard, Magic made the postseason every season of his 13 year career, making it to the NBA Finals 9 times. He won 5 NBA Championships and has the highest assist per game average of any player in NBA Playoff history.

3,755 Points

15 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 25.9 ppg, 11.2 reb, 3.3 blk3.2 ast

The “Dream” revolutionized low post play forever dominating the NBA during the mid 90’s as his Houston Rockets won 2 consecutive NBA titles while Michael Jordan was off trying his hand at baseball. He ranks 3rd all time in Playoff blocks and is tied with Andrew Bynum and Mark Eaton as the only players ever to block 10 shots in a postseason game.

3,776 Points

13 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 22 ppg, 6.9 reb, 4.8 ast, 1.1 stl

Even though his stats aren’t as eye-popping as a few others on this list, “Hondo” will go down as one of the greatest postseason performers of all time, winning 8 NBA Titles with the Celtics and is one of the few players to score 50 points in a single playoff game. He also pulled off one of the most iconic plays in postseason history when he now famously stole the ball from Hal Greer in the 1965 NBA Eastern Conference Finals to secure victory.

3,897 Points

12 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 23.8 ppg, 10.3 reb, 6.5 ast, 1.8 stl

Know as “Larry Legend”, Bird had many epic battles against his rival and friend Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the playoffs, winning 3 NBA Titles in the process. He won 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards, while scoring 40 or more points 5 times in the postseason, including 2 game winning shots.

4,457 Points

13 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 29.1 ppg, 6.1 ast

Know as the inspiration for the current “NBA logo”, Jerry West won only one title with the Lakers in 1972 but remains the only player to win the NBA Finals MVP from the losing team in 1969 when he set a still standing Finals record averaging 38.1 ppg for the series and has the 2nd highest career playoff scoring average to Michael Jordan(33.5 ppg). He had arguably the greatest Game 7 in Finals history, consisting of a remarkable 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assist triple-double in the 1969 Finals.

4,482 Points

15 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 22 ppg, 11.9 reb, 3.3 ast, 2.5 blk

As his Spurs have advanced to yet another NBA Finals in 2013, the “Big Fundamental” continues to make his case as the best power forward in league history, making the All NBA 1st Team for the 10th time. In the postseason, he’s been just as dominant, winning 4 NBA Titles, 3 NBA Finals MVP Awards, and is the all time career Playoff leader in blocks and ranks 5th all time in career Playoff rebounds.

4,761 Points

19 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 24.7 ppg, 10.7 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.3 stl

The “Mailman” made the NBA postseason an amazing 19 seasons but unfortunately will go down as one of the game’s best ever players to never win an NBA Title. It wasn’t for lack of trying since Malone ranks 5th all time in postseason scoring, 6th in career rebounds, and 8th all time in career postseason games played.

5,250 Points

17 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 24.3 ppg, 11.6 reb, 2.1 blk, .563 FG%

Having advanced into the 2nd Round and beyond through the first 13 seasons of his career, Shaq ranks Top 5 all time in Playoff scoring, rebounding, blocks, and FG%, while winning 4 NBA Titles and 3 NBA Finals MVP Awards. The “Diesel” was especially dominant during the Lakers three-peat in the early 2000’s when he regularly averaged more than 30 ppg, 15 reb, and 3 blocks for the entire postseason.

5,640 Points

15 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 25.6 ppg, 5.1 reb, 4.7 ast, 1.4 stl

Even though he missed the 2013 Playoffs due to that unfortunate Achilles injury, the “Black Mamba” is undoubtedly one of the Association’s all time clutch performers in the postseason, ranking in the Top 5 in most offensive categories like scoring, FG, 3PT, and FT made and attempted, minutes played, and games played. He ranks among the best all time, winning 5 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards, and holds numerous Playoff records like being the only player to score 600 or more points in a single postseason for 3 consecutive seasons. He passed Jerry West to rank 1st all time in LA Lakers career postseason points scored.

5,762 Points

18 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 24.5 ppg, 10.5 reb, 2.4 blk

The former Lew Alcindor continues his stranglehold as the NBA’s all time regular season scoring leader, but ranks among the all time best in the Playoffs as well. In winning 6 NBA Championships and 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards with both Milwaukee and Los Angeles, Kareem posted some of the best individual statistical postseasons in league history like his 34.6 ppg, 17.7 reb, and 3.5 blk effort in his first season as a Laker(1977). He also is one of a few players to ever grab 30 rebounds in a Playoff game.

5,987 Points

13 Seasons In the Playoffs

Playoff Averages: 33.4 ppg, 6.4 reb, 5.7 ast, 2.1 stl

He’s reverently referred to as the G.O.A.T for good reason as MJ won 6 NBA crowns, including 6 NBA finals MVP Awards, and has a perfect 6-0 record in the Finals. He holds the highest individual scoring average in postseason history and the highest average in a single series, racking up an unbelievable 45. 2 ppg average vs the Cavaliers in the 1988 1st Round. He has his own Wikipedia page to list his entire list of Playoff records, most noticeably scoring the most points in one postseason(759) and the highest individual scoring game by a player in history(63 points vs Boston in 1986).